The present invention relates to apparatus for cutting and forming the leads of taped electrical components, and more particularly to apparatus for cutting and forming the leads of taped components having axial leads.
Electronic components such as resistors, capacitors, and diodes are typically provided by component manufacturers with their leads secured to an elongated tape, in order to facilitate their use in the fabrication of electrical circuits. A particular type of component configuration, generally known as axial lead components, have leads which emerge from generally opposite sides of the component. Taped axial lead components are generally taped on both leads.
To utilize the taped parts in the fabrication of electrical circuits, taped axial lead electronic components are separated from the tape by cutting the leads and appropriately forming the cut leads for insertion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,950 by the present inventor, Gregory W. Holcomb, describes one form of axial lead component feeder. While the feeder described in this patent works well and has many desirable features, it does have certain drawbacks which are addressed by the present invention. The feeder of the '950 patent cuts and forms the leads at one station, and then transports the part in process to a presentation station where it is available for pick up by a robot. The transport of the part lengthens the cycle time, and reduces the refresh rate of the feeder, i.e., the rate at which components may be processed by the feeder. Also, the feeder of the '950 patent has a superstructure which extends above the point at which the finished part is presented for robotic pickup. If the robot malfunctions, or is misprogrammed, the robot can crash into the superstructure extending above the level of the finished part.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,266 by the present inventor Gregory W. Holcomb describes a variable axial lead electrical component feeder. The apparatus described in the '266 patent accommodates a range of body and lead sizes and readily adjusts to accommodate various tape widths and pitches and is readily utilized with robotic assembly systems. As a result of its capability to adjust to these various conditions, the apparatus is relatively complex and expensive to fabricate. In the feeder described in this patent, strain relief clamping elements are projected above the level of the processed part during the cutting and forming operations.
For an axial lead feeder to form leads in a manner which meets military specifications on lead bends, the feeder must provide lead strain relief during the bending operation. Strain relief clamps add to the complexity to the feeder apparatus, and typically result in structure used for the clamping which extends or projects above the processed component. This increases the Z axis profile of the apparatus, and presents the possibility of damage if a component pick-up robot should inadvertently "crash" into such elevated structure.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an axial lead component feeder of simplified construction, and which provides a relatively high component refresh rate, forms the leads with stain relief clamping, and does not require translation apparatus to move a processed part to a component pickup location.